Various types of communication systems and services are well known in the art. Examples of communication systems include systems that provide interconnect telephone services (e.g., cellular and land line systems) and systems that provide dispatch communication services. Cellular communication services allow for communication between two callers that have been specifically identified within the cellular system. Dispatch communication services allow for communications to occur amongst a group of callers identified in a call group. Alternatively, dispatch system users can engage in one-to-one communications via a private call. Typically, dispatch systems use a direct connect identifier (DCID) to establish the call between different users. With dispatch communications, two radios within the same network utilize signaling within the same network in order to communicate with each other.
Both types of systems are often offered to customers in many geographic areas and each may appeal to different customer bases. For example, cellular systems may be used by individuals that want to engage in direct, person-to-person communications with other individuals. On the other hand, dispatch communications are typically used for group members of a group to communicate with other group members in the group. For instance, members of public safety organizations often use dispatch communication systems to communicate with each other.
It is often necessary to determine the connection information, for example, the phone number, of a target subscriber that a system user wishes to communicate. Previous interconnect systems allow the ability to determine the connection information and supply this to a requesting user, for example, by using directory service. Additionally, previous dispatch systems provide the ability to determine connection information to complete a dispatch call. However, previous systems do not offer the ability to use interconnect call information or other types of identifiers to determine information relating to a dispatch communication call and establish the dispatch call with this information in a single step.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are typically not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.